There was nothing anybody from Shepard's crew could do while on their way to the forward command center but hope. Hope that there'll be a way out of the mess. Since the Normandy didn't have a safe place to land anywhere close to Anderson's location, Shepard and his team used the shuttle instead.

It wasn't long before the shuttle doors opened after it had landed and Shepard and his crew were running towards Admiral Anderson and the few soldiers around him, who were staying bunkered down next to a gate towards the forward command center, their guns ready, pointing at every possible entrance and exit. The building was looking even worse than before, with a lot of concrete rubble lying around. It was clear that something bad was going on inside.

"Anderson! What's going on?", Shepard asked the question he had been dying to know the answer to since he heard about the problem in the medical bay.

"The Reapers are gone, Shepard. Not just here, but everywhere on Earth", Anderson replied, almost out of breath, but then added as he took a deep sigh, "But something happened in the medical bay. My men say that the doctors turned on them, apparently indoctrinated, and they've overrun the command center."

"How could they have been indoctrinated?", Shepard protested, "We learned that Liara and Garrus had a chip installed in them by the Illusive Man, but I thought they were quarantined!"

"I don't know, Shepard. It was very sudden. Too fast to say what exacty happened", Anderson answered as he ran the back of his hand along his forehead in frustration.

"So what's the plan?", Wrex inquired, reloading his shotgun.

"We don't know what they're after, but we have to retake the command center", Anderson explained, "There are far too many ways that they could leave the building undetected. We have to cover them all and we're way too few."

"Can't you send in reinforcements?", Tali suggested.

"Most of the soldiers that survived were picked up by freighters to help defend the Crucible", Anderson elaborated, "It will take too long to wait for more people to get here. We have to split up; at least one person per entrance. Everyone must make their way to the central computer room where we had our briefing. They could be tampering with the equipment there."

"Understood", said one of the soldiers beside Anderson.

"I'm taking this one", Shepard nodded towards the door they were all standing next to.

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?", Anderson asked, gesturing towards Shepard's wound.

"I'm fine", Shepard downplayed, eager to finish the conversation as fast as possible. Every minute passed was precious and it could mean all the difference.

"Good luck", Anderson managed to say before Shepard was already through the door. The Commander looked behind him to see all of his crew share the sentiment. What could he have done without them?

The Reapers and the Illusive Man were on the verge of defeat. Everyone could see that, and in one last daring attempt by the Systems Alliance and every other race behind them, using the Crucible ought to be the final blow necessary to save the galaxy. But that thought left Shepard's mind as quickly as it had gone through it. The real battle for the Commander lied ahead. He knew this was the Illusive Man's last hope to somehow sabotage the Alliance's plan by using the ones closest to Shepard in a way to break him. There was absolutely no room for error.

Shepard went quietly through the lifeless dark corridors of the building. He had his flashlight on as the lights had gone out for one reason or another. The night never seemed to end, and it looked as if it was at its darkest right at this very moment. Shepard was genuinely afraid. Not for his own life, not because he couldn't see a thing in the narrow hallways, but for what he might discover deep inside. There were things even the galaxy's brightest hero couldn't bear.

His feet got tangled together as Shepard tripped over what he could determine was a body. He immediately illuminated it to see a dead Alliance soldier with his armor ripped apart mercilessly. He could feel the stench of death as he continued onwards. The ever-present disquieting silence didn't help, either. Trying to be as discreet as possible, Shepard turned off his comlink so that his location wouldn't be given away. That's when he heard a deafening scream right next to him, and with no time to react, he was already pushed on the floor by somebody.

Since his assault rifle had been knocked out of his hand, as well as the flashlight that came along with it, Shepard couldn't determine who the attacker was, but rather charged up a Shockwave that tossed the assailant helplessly towards the wall, who made contact with the hard concrete, and collapsed on the floor. That gave Shepard time to grab his rifle as he proceeded to direct the flashlight to the person who had attacked him to reveal the corpse of a woman; one of the nurses that had helped in the infirmary before; the one who had directed him to Liara and Garrus. The wall had hit her right at the back of her head, and a smear of blood followed the point of impact to where her body was lying. Her eyes had been replaced with the glowing orbs that the Illusive Man had. There was no doubt that she had been indoctrinated.

Shepard had to press on regardless of who he encountered. He had to stop the madness that was going within. The thought that the indoctrination originated from Liara and Garrus was too painful to endure. Even though he was still discreet, Shepard quickened, trying to make sense of the maze of hallways he was going through. None of it looked familiar to him until he noticed the door leading to the medical bay. If there were any answers to be found, they had to be there.

Now as he was closer to the cental computer room, he could hear sounds of firing guns in the distance. He was nearing somebody else who had come through a different entrance. Still, the rooms were as dark as they were in the beginning, and Shepard exercised caution. He found a few more bodies of soldiers who had apparently tried to stop the indoctrinated forces until he found the opened door to the quarantined infirmary where he had last seen Liara and Garrus in a state of coma. He went inside, as gingerly as possible, and scanned the room with the crosshair of his rifle. There was nobody there now. Taking one step to ensure that there was nothing of interest, he was suddenly thrown to the wall with great force, his assault rifle slipping through his hands, the flashlight breaking, and his body smashing itself on the wall violently.

Shepard hissed from the twinge, as hitting the wall revived the pain from the wound he had endured before, and he could barely open his eyes to see who had caught him off-guard this time. He never even noticed that he had also been hit by a Biotic Stasis. Even with the darkness all around him, he could make out the silhouette of his attacker. What really gave away her identity, however, were the eyes; eyes so distinct that not even the glowing orbs could completely hide away.

The shock of seeing none other than Liara standing opposite him was overwhelming. She looked as if she was in Stasis herself; her mouth slightly open in surprise, her right hand aloft, supposedly ready to attack once again, her blue eyes locked on Shepard, lifeless because of the visible indoctrination, and yet not completely dead, either. Millions of thoughts passed through Shepard's mind, who still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Even the Stasis he was put in didn't stop the insurmountable amount of feelings boiling up inside of him because of the sight of the one he loved in such a condition.

Then it hit him. Liara wasn't doing anything. She was standing completely still, as immobile as he was, looking at him with a look he couldn't quite comprehend. She had been his driving force, she had been his reason for living, his reason for doing what he could to stop the Reapers, and she was standing right beside him now in the darkness. But she wasn't attacking him despite the obvious indoctrination she had undergone. Shepard struggled to say something, the Stasis still too strong for him to move a muscle. It took him a great deal of effort to finally utter something.

"Liara!", he managed to whisper, gulping, trying to make himself audible, "Liara! It's me!"

Upon saying her name, Shepard could notice that Liara trembled ever so slightly. She could definitely hear him, but she remained still as she had before.

"Liara… You can… You can do this!", Shepard said, every word requiring a great deal of effort on his part, "You're stronger than them! Fight them! I know… I know you can do this!"

Somehow he knew he was getting through to her. Without uttering any more words, he knew that she could still hear them in his mind. Shepard found the necessary strength in the bond between them; a bond that transcended any kind of mental and physical barriers. He couldn't remember blinking once as he looked directly in Liara's eyes, seeing through her, the conflict inside her; trying to help her in any way he could.

"I believe in you, Liara", Shepard uttered, "I always have."

Liara's silhouette suddenly started glowing in blue, her hand violently shaking, urging her to use her Biotics against Shepard, and yet, she had the strength to hold it back. She had closed her eyes, gasping at the pressure she had to be feeling, and tried to resist in any way she could. Before Shepard could say anything more, she had fired her power directly underneath her feet, tossing her body upwards. She hit the ceiling and collapsed on the floor.

Shepard could feel his heart rate threatening his very existence as he struggled to fight through the increasingly weakening Stasis. It only took him a few seconds to start limping towards Liara in a dire attempt to touch her, make sure she was alive, and hold her for eternity and never let go. Every step he took felt like an hour to him until he could finally collapse on his knees next to Liara's body. He immediately checked for pulse, releasing the breath he had been holding ever since Liara had been hit in relief when he could feel her breathing. She was alive.

Finding the strength return in him, Shepard managed to lift Liara, leaving her to rest on his chest, and embraced her, his hands intertwining with hers. There were no signs that she was physically hurt from the impact, and her breathing was steady.

"I'm so proud of you, Liara… I love you so much… So much", Shepard whispered, a couple of tears escaping as he caressed her hands, the world around him now gone; there was only her. The Illusive Man was wrong. Shepard wasn't the only one with such kind of willpower to overcome indoctrination. Liara had it, too, and both of them owed it to one another. Together they defeated Saren. Together they stopped the Shadow Broker. And together they'll defeat the Reapers. Shepard couldn't help but smile when he looked at Liara as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully. It felt like years since he held her like this.

There were sounds of battle in the distance, but Shepard couldn't leave Liara. He never would again, especially when she needed him most. Just like he had faith in her that she'd fight indoctrination, he had faith in his friends that they'd succeed in their mission. Liara remained in Shepard's embrace until he finally felt her gasp as she started to move about in bewilderment, but he held on to her tightly.

"Sh… It's okay, Liara. I'm here", Shepard whispered.

"Shepard!", Liara whispered back, "I can't believe… I'm so sorry!"

"You've got nothing to be sorry about, Liara. You did it. You broke free", Shepard assured her.

"You were dead! The Reapers… They had won…", Liara went on, but was interrupted as Shepard pressed his finger to her lips.

"Don't worry, Liara, it was a dream. The Illusive Man was trying to indoctrinate you", Shepard explained, turning her around so that he could face her and see her bright blue eyes through the darkness again, "But you didn't give in. You resisted."

"Goddess… Shepard…", Liara whimpered as she started crying against his chest, "You're alive…"

"I'm very much alive", Shepard smiled as he caressed her back, "And so are you. We made it."

"But… at what cost? I know I did… I did something…", Liara sniffed, "If I was indoctrinated, then… Did I kill all those people?"

"You didn't kill anyone, Liara. That was not you, and you know it", Shepard continued to comfort the Asari he was holding in his arms. Seeing her still trembling from the thoughts that she could be having, he lifted her head with his hand on her chin and said, "Look at me, Liara. You didn't do anything wrong, I swear to you. You did everything right. I love you."

"I love you, too", Liara whispered, a small smile on her lips. Shepard leaned in as they shared a tender kiss, giving strength to one another, hands still intertwined. Neither of them did any effort to stop the tears. They shared a few moments just for themselves, in each other's embrace, never letting their lips part ways. After they finally broke the kiss, they remained silent for a while until Liara asked, "What's happened, Shepard? The Reapers…"

"I don't know. The Crucible was docking when we left for Earth", Shepard explained, only now reminded of the war that was still going on, "But we are winning, Liara, that I can say for certain. I believe we can do it. We have the Reapers and the Illusive Man at a disadvantage."

"I hope so, Shepard", Liara retorted, stroking her lover's cheek, "I want the galaxy to have a future. I want us to have a future. Us and our child."

"Our child?", Shepard asked tentatively, watching the biggest smile form on Liara's lips, her eyes twinkling.

"I'm pregnant, Shepard", she whispered, looking at him earnestly.

"Pregnant?", Shepard repeated, speechless for a while, until he looked at her and asked, "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life", Liara smiled as she chuckled, "Well, except for the moment I knew I had fallen in love with you."

"This is…", Shepard struggled to find the words so he embraced Liara instead, the never-ending tears falling again, "Liara… I've… I've never felt happier than I am now."

Shepard was amazed that he could even say anything at that moment. He was truly at loss for words. What he had told Liara was the absolute truth. His dream of having a family with her was on its way to becoming a reality. Neither one had anything to say for a long while as they just shared each other's company, holding together, their years of hard and tiring work finally on the way to be paid off. Now Shepard could only smile as he thought of his ideal future with Liara and the children they'd have. He was unarguably the luckiest man in the galaxy.

Their moment together was interrupted as suddenly the ground beneath them started to violently shake. Liara panically looked around them, as did Shepard, but they didn't let go for a second. The darkness that surrounded the room they were in was suddenly surrounded in a bright light that blinded Shepard, who held onto Liara as tight as he could. He could feel her burying her head in his chest in fear. Regardless of what was going on, nothing was going to take either her or their child away from him now, nor ever.